I have always enjoyed reading my work aloud ever since my first experience of doing so when I was in my early twenties. Historically, being able to read to an audience usually requires an 'event' of some kind - such as a book festival - and then an invitation to do so. One of things … Continue reading Always happy to read
Category: Poetry
Watching Simon Armitage read…
Yesterday evening I attended the marque event of Ripon's fourth Poetry Festival, a reading by the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. Being slightly ambivalent to Armitage's work, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Without any introduction, Armitage started by reading "Thank you for waiting" - and immediately had the audience in fits of laughter. The … Continue reading Watching Simon Armitage read…
A quick look in the rear-view mirror…
Although it was not that long ago I reflected on the challenge of having 'too much free time' to work on literary projects (see my 'dreams' post), it has been a while since I offered any kind of update on what I'm actually writing. It's odd how your perspective can change week-to-week; how one day … Continue reading A quick look in the rear-view mirror…
“Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic”
Simon's Armitage's collection "Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic" is something of a smorgasbord in terms of theme, style, even seriousness. It could easily offer 'something for everybody', as the saying goes. What struck me most of all was a sense that I wasn't reading poetry as much as reviewing 'product'. Everything in this collection was commissioned, … Continue reading “Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic”
A written plea for the next…
I'm currently reading Simon Armitage's Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic and I came across this: each new poem never anything lessthan a written plea for the next.from "Émigré" This is, of course, spot on. For those of us blessed - or plagued (you choose!) - with the compulsion to write, there is always this sense of … Continue reading A written plea for the next…
Are we there yet?
If you're a parent and a driver, the chances are the title of this post will resonate. Remember those long journeys - and probably not-so-long ones - when the chant from the kids in the back at some stage invariably migrated to "Are we there yet?"... Journeys of this nature - from A to B, … Continue reading Are we there yet?
Sound body, sound mind..?
I have decided to cycle the length of the UK - Land's End to John o'Groats - on my exercise bike. Over 1,500 km split across 57 'stages'. Okay, so there are no uphills - but there are no downhills either! It seemed like a good idea: keep fit, have a challenge to aim for, … Continue reading Sound body, sound mind..?
Substack: Nirvana or the Emperor’s New Clothes?
It seems lots of people are deserting WordPress for Substack, lured by the notion of creating 'newsletters' that people will pay to receive. That and knowing they'll be rubbing virtual shoulders with famous names and literary goliaths - and the fact that Substack is currently 'free'. So is it a good move? It's tempting, of … Continue reading Substack: Nirvana or the Emperor’s New Clothes?
The Binding of the Sea
The Binding of the Sea would the tide never stop coming in inching ever higher as the months passed there were only two roads out each burdened with over-familiarity all novelty quagmire-sunk as if the peninsula had capitulated and the sea invaded the land going further afield they sought pubs in out-of-the-way locations explorers for … Continue reading The Binding of the Sea
Short-term, long-term, short-term; the Shifting Horizons of our lives
There is an immediacy about childhood. We are impatient, fickle; we want today's new thing, an ice cream, to go to the park. And we always want them now. For young children, tomorrow simply doesn't exist. Then things change. School does that to us. It introduces us to "school days", "weekends", "holidays"; eventually it becomes … Continue reading Short-term, long-term, short-term; the Shifting Horizons of our lives
Ian Gouge - Writer 